jtricer1973 Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Hey guys, I just setup up my little 5 gallon bowfront that was collecting dust in the closet and have a question. At the time I had a bag of crushed coral on hand and decided to use it for the substrate. I seeded it with some sand from my 46 gallon bow front and some Garf grunge I had ordered for the 46 gallon as well. I have about 4 pounds of live rock in it also from my established 46 gallon. Someone raised a question about the crushed coral substrate. They said they had used it once and had problems with high nitrates and I guess attributed it to the crushed coral. Do you think this is correct. I don't quite understand why it would be but maybe someone could shed some light on this. The cycle has just about finished and took about a week. Everything I used was from an established reef tank except for the crushed coral. The ammonia spiked about 4 days ago. ammonia = 0 nitrites = 0 PH = 8.2 nitrates = 10 I haven't done a water change yet. I just got done testing the water. If the crushed coral is a problem I would rather change it now and re-cycle the tank than get it stocked and then run into problems. Thanks guys Link to comment
funkngroovy Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 The debate on high nitrates is all about the size of the substrate. It is the same argument/reasons why people have turned on bioballs and ceramic rings. Detritus gets trapped in the large particles and there is not enough anerobic area for the de-nitrifying bacteria to to their thing. So, it is all about the size. If it is 3mm or smaller crushed, you won't have a problem, if it is small coral peices, you may. Then again, you can direct more flow to the bottom of the tank and not let the detritus settle, then you shouldn't have a problem. Link to comment
jtricer1973 Posted May 1, 2009 Author Share Posted May 1, 2009 Thanks for the reply. I may just go ahead and remove it and get some sand. I would rather do that than get it stocked and then have a lot of problems. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Double threads? http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=196234&hl= Link to comment
Trueno22 Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I have always hated crushed coral beds. they trap too much gunk in them. i personally have a DSB in both my nano and my main tank. nitrates and nitrite are always at 0. Link to comment
jtricer1973 Posted May 2, 2009 Author Share Posted May 2, 2009 Double threads? http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=196234&hl= Yeah, I thought it fit better here but then couldn't figure out how to delete the other post. Link to comment
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